It was a cool evening at Prosper High School, but the red-hot Lady Eagles were eager to hit the pitch for their district opener against Little Elm on Jan. 24.

The Lady Lobos traveled to Prosper with a 6-3-1 record this season, while Prosper boasted an undefeated 8-0 record leading into district.

The opening whistle saw both Prosper and Little Elm battling for control of the game. With the possession relatively even 10 minutes into the game, neither team made a real advance towards goal, and fans were eager for the game’s first break. The Little Elm keeper was called into action after a throw-in to senior Gabby Gamboa. The senior turned her defender and hit a shot, but the Lady Lobo keeper was able to scoop it up. Gamboa would find herself very busy in the upcoming minutes as she scored the first two goals for Prosper. The first goal came after a Little Elm defensive miscue led to an offensive scramble for the Lady Eagles. Gamboa was able to find the ball and beat the goalie in the one-on-one battle, giving her team the lead.

The goal acted as a catalyst for the Lady Eagles in the upcoming minutes, as they found themselves holding the possession and leading the attack with a series of goals. After several combination passes, Gamboa fired a shot from the corner of the box and made the score 2-0. Junior Kat Rogers would fire a 25-yard rocket into the upper 90’s, and a perfect ball from junior Peyton Jefferson found a wide-open sophomore Hailey Davidson, making the score 4-0 at the end of the first.

Little Elm did not go down without a fight, however, and in the first minute of the second half junior goalkeeper Peyton York made a save after the Lady Lobos were awarded a free kick.

“It’s a team effort,” York said about the save. “(My defenders) have my back and I have theirs.”

York would be called upon again after a breakaway one-on-one by a Little Elm forward. The Lobo attack would soon be halted as Davidson netted her second goal of the match; Gamboa slipped a through-ball to the sophomore forward, who finished into the bottom right corner of the goal. Though there were several other great opportunities for Prosper, the game would end in a 5-0 victory.

The entire team contributed in the win, as every player on the roster played in the match.

“It was a good team win,” head coach Rafael Flores said. “It’s always nice when you carry 25 players that everyone can be a part of that. The sideline staying engaged and cheering on their teammates is good too.”

York said there are some takeaways from the win that they can apply to the upcoming match.

“Speed of play,” said York. “Towards the second half (Little Elm) got a little chippy, and playing one-two touch, three at max, is definitely gonna be something that we need to start working on so that we can move the ball around quicker.

Prosper 4, Carrollton Newman Smith 0

Prosper also played Carrollton Newman Smith on Friday, Jan. 27. Coach Flores reported that they team played very well, despite the field conditions and Smith’s defensive presence.

“The girls dominated possession again, but the Newman Smith strategy was to put 10 (players) behind the ball,” said Flores. “It took us a while to score, but we went up 2-0 at halftime.”

The Lady Eagles opened up the second half of play with a series of explosive offensive plays. The girls coasted through the remainder of the match, and won 4-0. Goals were scored by junior Kat Rogers, sophomore Diana Ordonez, senior Mo Ordonez and Gamboa.